


Moving Forward

by LittleMissWolfie



Series: After [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Future, Established Relationship, F/M, Future Fic, Identity Issues, Implied Sexual Content, Mild Language, Not Beta Read, Post-Series, She/her pronouns, Unplanned Pregnancy, tw: identity crisis, tw: unplanned pregnancy, tw: war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-22
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-07-26 00:24:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7552987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMissWolfie/pseuds/LittleMissWolfie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He levels his wise gaze at her from over his spectacles. “I think we both know what’s going on, but I’d like to run a few tests first.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Or; Everyone around Pidge is moving on, and she still has to deal with identity crisis after identity crisis.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moving Forward

**Author's Note:**

> I'm planning on this being a series of one shots and short stories centered around the cast after the series ends. I'm taking several liberties with their matured characters and relationships moving forward, but I strive to keep them as close to the zany group we know and love from the show. There are several instances I could have used to kick this series off, but I really wanted your first taste of my future Paladins to be this.
> 
> This is, in part, because of a Life is Strange fic called Jupiter by midnight_neverland I recently read. No spoilers for the game, as it's kind of an AU. Basically, Max and Warren face the possibility that she may be pregnant and have to decide where their relationship goes from that point on. I really felt like Pidge would need something big (like an impending pregnancy) to push her to have this kind of discussion. I also have a whole other rant I could go on about why I thnk Lance and Pidge make more sense than other Pidge pairing and Klance, but I want you to actually read this instead of spending your whole time on my author's note.

Ever since she chopped off her hair, she’s had a bit of an ongoing identity crisis. To help with this, she strives to sort everything that happens to her as one of two things: a “Katie Holt” issue and a “Pidge Gunderson” issue.

When she fought (won) against Zarkon and his evil Galra Empire, she was Pidge Gunderson. When she helped formerly enslaved races come to terms with their newfound freedom, she was Pidge Gunderson. When she’s in space, exploring and inventing and discovering, she’s Pidge Gunderson. When she’s soaring through the stars in her lion, she’s Pidge Gunderson. When her skin is pressed flush against Lance’s under the night sky of whatever planet they find themselves on, she’s Pidge Gunderson.

When she’s on Earth, she’s Katie Holt. When she eats dinner with her reunited family as she yearned for, she’s Katie Holt. When she wears her long dresses and impractical shoes, she’s Katie Holt. When she’s shopping for new mechanical part with her brother, she’s Katie Holt. When she helps her mother clean the house, she’s Katie Holt. When she curls up on her father’s side and listens to his stories about piloting for the Garrison pre-Kerberos mission, she’s Katie Holt. When she lies back on her soft bed, surrounded by fluffy pillows and soft blankets, she’s Katie Holt.

This system of separating the two sides of her life have worked wonderfully for her eighteen year old self. She changes what part of her brain handles a situation depending on who would be more helpful. Pidge is cool under pressure and makes quick-fire decisions while Katie handles diplomacy and subterfuge. She wants nothing more than to continue life in this way.

But the world is moving on around her. The Castle of Lions has returned to Arus with the Arusians’ consent and Allura and Shiro are more and more constantly there, planning for their upcoming wedding. Coran has taken a year-long offer to teach about alien cultured at a distinguished university in England. Keith has recently taken an admissions test to go back to the Garrison and train to be a military-grade pilot, on his merit rather than on his reputation. Hunk has unofficially moved onto the Balmera, helping by building huts and guiding its inhabitants back to their ways before their enslavement (and awkwardly courting Shay in a way that was undeniably  _ Hunk _ ). She and Lance are the only ones who continue to travel through the universe, and even Lance has been asking her to spend more and more time on Earth.

If she’s honest, her biggest concern is Lance’s increasing desire to remain on Earth. She’s not ashamed to say she’s fallen for him. He’s matured a great deal over the years, and while he’s still not the smartest guy out there, he’s brave and kind and genuine. If anything, she’s surprised he’s attracted to her. Lance’s usual type is tall, thin, and large-breasted. Pidge is short, vaguely muscular, and her chest size is smaller than Hunk’s.

One night, as they relaxed on the verdant planet Pidge found her Lion on, she expressed this to him. Their legs were entwined under the blanket she’d brought from her family home and their Lions formed a protective barrier around them to discourage any natives from snooping. Her head was propped on his tanned chest so she could listen to the comforting, steady beat of his heart and his fingers were tracing  patterns in the skin on her back. He’d grinned at her and said, “You’re not a girl.”

She’d bolted up, jostling the blanket and leaving her skin exposed to the stars’ silvery-blue light. “That’s not exactly endearing yourself to me,” she joked.

His grin widened, and the hand that was tracing her back took the opportunity to give her rear a squeeze, drawing a squeal from her. “When I was a boy,” he began to explain, “I liked girls with big boobs and models’ bodies. When I flirted with Allura, I was only attracted to her physically.”

“And now?” Pidge had asked, raising one of her eyebrows.

“I was getting to that. Sheesh, you’re impatient!” This time he gave her a pinch, and she playfully smacked his chest in retaliation. Then he got serious. “During the war, I ws continuously amazed by you, by your wits and bravery. I looked at you, crawling through vents on Galra ships and hacking their computers and repurposing their tech, and I thought, ‘Who knew a girl could do that?’

“And over the years, I realized you weren’t a  _ girl _ . You weren’t soft and flowery and weak. You kicked ss and took names. You were - you  _ are _ \- a warrior.” He leaned up to press a soft kiss on her lips. “And I loved that, and I love you.”

And there was no more talking, because she descended on him and the only noises that escaped their throats were breathy moans and each other’s names.

Several weeks after that night, Katie Holt is hunched over the toilet in the bathroom she and Matt share, puking for the third time in an hour. To her embarrassment, Matt is hovering over her, tugging at her short strands as if to try to hold it back for her and patting her back awkwardly. “You should go to the doctor,” he says, and his tone leaves no room for argument. “You need to get checked out before you leave again.”

Instead of responding, she reaches a hand up to flush the toilet.

“Katie!” Matt snaps. “You can’t ignore this! Something might really be wrong!”

“Lance and I visited Hunk before we came home,” she supplies. “Might’ve been something I ate.” Indeed, she’d agreed to try some of Hunk’s questionable experimental dishes at dinner the night she and Lance stayed with him. Lance had looked disgusted at the strange dish with the still-moving tentacles, but Pidge dug right in.

In the present, Matt sighs and stands, wobbling to his feet with his cane. While done with good intentions, Shiro’s blow that saved Matt’s life has also permanently damaged his leg. “Are you feeling better, at least?”

“Yes,” Pidge says, and Katie throws her head back into the toilet and heaves again.

“I’m calling the doctor.’

“I  hate you.”

“Noted.”

\---

Dr. Marcott has been the Holt family doctor for years, and with Pidge’s newfound fame, he has no problem making a house call to check up on her. He has her lay on her bed and sits on the edge as he examines her. Thankfully, he locks the door behind him to keep Matt out. She loves her brother, she really does, but he can be a little overbearing. “How long have you been feeling ill?”

“Just today,” Katie answers.

“Are you on any medication I haven’t prescribed?”

“No, sir.’

“When was your last menstrual cycle?”

This question gives her pause. She counts back, and realizes it should have started on Balmera. “Eight or nine weeks ago, I guess? I didn’t even realize I was off.”

Dr. Marcott hums. “Have you noticed yourself having mood swings, or strange cravings?”

“No mood swings, but I ate some weird food right before I came home.” She can see where this is going.

“Just one more question, Miss Holt. Have you felt any strange sensations in your breasts, such as pain or tingling?”

Her stomach coils. “Yes,” she says.

Dr. Marcott sighs. “One last question, for real this time.” She knows she’s meant to smile at his use of outdated slang, but she can’t bring herself to. “Are you sexually active? If so, for how long?”

She takes in a deep breath. “I’ve been sexually active for just under a year.”

He levels his wise gaze at her from over his spectacles. “I think we both know what’s going on, but I’d like to run a few tests first.” He ducks down to grab his briefcase. Like mosts doctors, he has the most advanced tech possible, including tiny machines that can do what took much larger ones year ago to do. When she consents, he begins to gather the relevant DNA to begin his tests.

\---

Ten minutes later, she’s staring at the results that validate her fears. “I’m on birth control,” she says. “I take pills for this. How could this happen?”

Dr. Marcott scoots closer to her and places a hand on her shoulder. “Even with how much medicine has advanced, the only one hundred percent effective method of birth control is abstinence.”

She turns her  face to him, eyes wide and scared. “What can I do? W-what are my options?”

Dr. Marcott thinks for a second before he answers, as if he’s trying to recall the answer. “You’re cleared for space travel in this solar system only until the end of your first trimester, at which time you will have to remain on Earth to minimize danger to the baby. Once it’s born, you can decide if you want to raise it or give it up for  adoption.” When she doesn’t answer immediately, he clears his throat and continues, “Abortion is also an option.”

_ Abortion _ . The word feels like a physical blow. She knows it’s a reproductive right, one that feminists fought for for years, but she never imagined having to consider it herself. “I,” she starts, and stops when her voice breaks. “I need to talk about this. With, with Lance.”

Dr. Marcott nods. “I completely understand. Until then, I’m going to have to ask you to stop taking your birth control pills, and I suggest you start taking prenatal vitamins to ensure you’re getting enough iron and folic acid. You can get it over the counter for a lower price, but since  your family has such good medical insurance, I can write you a prescription for some with higher micronutrient content.”

She has to swallow. “I, uh, can I get back to you on the prescription, when I decide?”

“Of course.”

“Is there anything else I should know?”

“I’m sure someone as intuitive as you can find an accurate list of foods to eat and avoid, but if you feel the need, I can e-mail you a comprehensive list. Other than that, just let me know what your decision is so I can point you in the direction of the relevant professional.”

What he means is,  _ so I can send you to a gynecologist or an abortion clinic. _

__ She’s not sure which side of her brain thanks him.

\---

She lets Dr. Marcott tell her family the news and locks herself in her room. Lance will be coming to collect her for their next adventure later tonight and she needs to figure out what she’s going to say to him.

She knows Lance wants a family, though he’s never explicitly told her so. She sees the way he gets excited over Allura and Shiro’s wedding, how he looks at families walking down the street, how he stops for a fraction of a second when they pass jewelry stores. She knows he wants to marry her; he hasn’t been very subtle about it. But he’s also respecting her wanderlust. He’ll go along with whatever she decides.

The Pidge part of her brain wants to keep exploring and discovering and inventing. It argues she’s too young to be a mother, too boyish, too emotionally stunted. But it also says she doesn’t want to keep adventuring without Lance. It says that, even if he agrees to go with abortion or adoption, he’ll begin to draw away from her.

The Katie part of her brain thinks back to that night on the verdant planet, where Lance said he loved the Pidge part. It’s worried he’ll leave her when she can’t keep up with him, belly rounded and back aching and feet swollen. But it also says this is what they were meant for. It says they were heading this way already, just arriving early.

She sits up slowly and pulls the baggy tank top up until it rests under her breasts, staring at her still-flat stomach. There’s a tiny person in there. A tiny, tiny person, half her, half Lance.

That’s what makes her decide. It’s half Lance.

\---

She doesn’t realize she’s fallen asleep until she jerks awake at the sound of knocking at her door. “Go away, Matt!” she shouts. “I don’t need your shit!” Pidge adds.

There’s a pause. Then, “What about  _ my _ shit?”

_ Lance. _

__ She vaults off her bed with a speed that almost alarms her, undoing the lock and throwing the door open. There’s Lance, tall and lanky and looking a little concerned. She’s not sure if it’s the baby or Katie who wants to cry, to bury herself in his arms. Instead, she grabs his arm and hauls him inside, locking the door behind him so Matt, who’s lurking in the hallway, can’t interrupt. Then she whips around and wraps her arms around his waist and buries her face in his shirt, taking in his comforting scent.

It only takes a moment for him to reciprocate the gesture, and they find themselves falling onto her bed. “Hey,” he says softly, fingers untangling the mess sleep has done to her hair, “what’s wrong? You and Matt get into another fight? I thought his glares were more scathing than usual.’

A running theme in most of Lance and Matt’s encounters is passive aggressiveness on Matt’s part. Pidge knows she can’t blame him. Anyone would be upset that their little sister was part of a war and slept with a teammate. Apparently Matt heard about Lance’s flirtatious reputation from his and Pidge’s classmates at the Garrison after he returned home, and he’s held it against Lance ever since. “He’s gonna use you and throw you away!” he’d said once, when Katie came home with a hickey on her neck. The old Katie would have been inclined to agree with him, but Pidge retaliated. It’s one of the few things she and Matt disagree on.

Pidge  shakes her head. “Matt’s not the problem this time.”

“Then what is?”

“I need to tell you something,” she says after a pause. “It’s big, and it’s gonna change just about everything. And I’m  _ scared. _ ”

“Hey.” He shifts, pulling her up so they’re face to face. “Nothing you can say will change how I feel about you. That’s not how love works.”

She takes a deep, shuddering breath. Then, “There’s a piece of paper on the nightstand behind you. Can you grab it?”

He looks confused, but he twists his torso to grab her test results. She can’t seem to stop herself from continuing. “I started vomiting this morning--” She ignores Lance’s startled yelp at the news, barrelling on, “--so Matt insisted we call our family doctor and have him check me out before we left tonight. That piece of paper is the result.”

Lance still looks worried, but he scans the paper, mouthing some of the words, brow furrowing when he encounters one he doesn’t know. Then, suddenly, his skin goes pale, and she knows he knows.

“You’re pregnant?”

He says the words slowly, like he’s still processing it. He probably is. God knows she is. “About seven weeks,” she says in way of answer.

“But you’re on birth control!”

“Lance, we’ve been having a  _ lot _ of sex, and no birth control is completely effective. We’re just the ones it decided to crap out on.”

He exhales, hard.  “Okay, alright.” His hold on her tightens, and she readily curls into him. “Pidge, it’s  _ your _ body.  _ You _ get to decide what you want to do.”

“I have my opinion already. I want to know yours.”

He looks a little surprised, and he takes a moment to answer. “I mean -  _ God,  _ Pidge! This is a  _ baby _ ! It’s something we made! And, sure, we’re young, but I’ve known for a long time that you’re the only one I want this with.” He kisses her forehead. “I love you, Pidge. I love you, and I love that baby inside you.”

And she has to laugh at that. “You better,” she says softly. “You’re gonna have to deal with it for the next eighteen years.”

A grin overtakes his face, lighting him up, and Pidge and Katie both swear they love him more than ever in that moment. “I’ll start looking for a place! We should go between here and Veradera, right? Right between our families. And I’m gonna get a job. I won’t raise our baby on the money we get from Voltron royalties.’

“I can sell some patents,” she offers. “I like inventing them more than building them over and over anyway. There are gonna be medical bills up the ass for this. Every penny will count.”

One of his hands falls to her stomach. “We’re doing this together.”

Something dawns on her, and she smirks. “So, you gonna marry me, or what?”

He laughs, warm and genuine. “Get me a ring and we’ll talk.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, there it is! Lance and Pidge are planning for their future now! One of my next fics will probably be the rest of the Paladins finding out about the little one on the way. I assure you, their reactions will be amusing.
> 
> I know you may have questions about the universe I am establishing. I would, if this was all I knew about it. I don't really want to get too much into the war with the Galra Empire, because it would be super depressing and I'm not good at writing violence, but I (probably) have answers for everything else. Instead of asking questions in the comments (unless they're rhetorical/for other readers), you can direct them to my tumblr, littlemisswolfie.tumblr.com. I'm also going to start following the tags series:after and fic:moving forward, so I should be able to see anything you post.
> 
> And, finally, I really hope you enjoyed this!


End file.
